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If you know me, you know I can spout rather compelling Fed propaganda in my sleep. I'm a hardcore party girl. I am synonymous with The Feds. When presented with the challenge of explaining why The Federalist Party is the best party in eRep, I thought, "Oh this will be easy. I'm the proudest/horniest Federalist since the motherflippin founding fathers."



After giving it some thought, however, I find that what really made me love the Feds isn't just what we did in eRepublik, but what I took with me when I left. Let's get real for a minute.

If my role in the Feds could be summed up in one word, it would probably be ORGANIZER. I was all about structure, efficiency and purpose. When I joined the party, the only thing that set the Feds apart from other parties was that we didn't have any members. When the party leaders of the time jumped ship, I stepped in to see if we could actually take the idea of Federalism and apply it to eRepublik. What if parties were like States? What if we took our motto seriously and really focused on integrity and service? If this is an imaginary political world where anything can happen, why not try to make something good that seems impossible in real life?

The next few months were spent putting together spreadsheets, building forums, recruiting, teaching and being as active as possible. We built a real party that was suddenly nothing like any other party. What was especially bizarre about how we were doing business is that we saw that it was working and rather than using it to smash other parties into submission, we offered to teach them how to do it themselves. This nation is weak if there are only one or two strong parties. We need 6. For the Feds, it was never about just winning elections or becoming #1, it was always about making this country stronger and safer through the party system. Integrity and service. Country first.



Integrity. We talk about it a lot. We throw it around. But integrity was permeating everything we were doing. Integrity and the Feds are inseparable. It doesn't appeal to everyone, but it appeals very much to the people we want in the party. It appeals to the people who don't want to be ashamed of the time they've spent here and hope to get something meaningful out of a meaningless game.

In my real life, I was at a career crossroads while I was playing. I wasn't entirely happy doing what I was doing, but it paid the bills, even if it left me sick from time to time. I work in a shady business and there are certain things you have to sacrifice if you want to get ahead. There is a kind of person you're expected to be if you want to do well. The Federalist Party made me want more out of my life and my job. If we could build a party that is both ethically sound AND successful in a game where it really doesn't benefit you to be that way, maybe I could have a job like that, too. I left the game and got to work building a company.

My company is set up like the Feds, for the most part. The forums, the spreadsheets, it's all very similar. My company is focused on education and service. My company hinges on integrity, not ego. Two years later, I am very thankful to say that my company is quite successful even though our industry isn't recession-proof. The shady companies that have made those ethical sacrifices are closing up shop all around us while we continue to climb and grow. My company is p/h, staffed with p/h people. My whole life is p/h.



What I took away from my time in the Federalist Party is difficult to put into words. That's where I found out not only what I'm good at, but what is really important to me. In this game where you can be anything, I chose to be the kind of person who organizes a community that works for the good of others. I didn't think I was that person, but the Feds taught me that I am very much that person. In this game where you can do anything, I regularly put the greater good and 'the right thing' ahead of short-term personal gains and selfishness. Again, I didn't think I was that person, but the Feds gave me these opportunities and support, and I rose to the occasion.

While playing eRep, I didn't collect achievements like one does on an xbox, trying to earn medals just to collect them all...I built something and I was a part of something. This game doesn't matter. It's just a game. But we make it matter by learning something from it and applying it to the real world. I've done that. I'm an accomplished Fed. I'm proud/horny.